What is "the church"?
What is a Church?
Part 2
1
Timothy 3:14 ¶These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee
shortly: 15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest
to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the truth. 16 And without controversy great
is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the
Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world,
received up into glory.
Understanding
that Paul wrote the above scripture to Timothy in relation to the
qualifications of elders and deacons we see that he wanted Timothy to know how
to conduct himself in these matters. In relation to this process Paul wanted
his young protégé Timothy to know how to conduct himself in the house of God,
which is the church. He was not speaking of a building he was speaking of the
united body of men and women who had believed on and obeyed the gospel and
doctrine of Christ.
For a person
to be added to the church of Christ there are some things that they must do and
there are some things they must understand. The things that a person believes
must be believed from the heart. This is not a whimsical belief that fosters
the idea that a person merely understands something. God requires the kind of
belief that is the result of illumination and a change of life. A person might
believe that diabetes can result in death or be avoided or managed by a routine
change of diet. A person can believe that but still continue to eat unhealthy
things that contribute to the onset of diabetes. But when a person actually
learns that they have been diagnosed with diabetes and the options are change
your diet or die this person will normally change their eating habits because
now their belief is personal and from the heart because they want to save their
life.
The type of
belief a person has at the time of their obedience to the gospel through
baptism is truly the deciding factor as to whether a person is added to the
church or has simply engaged in a water activity. The Bible say in Romans 6:17-18 "But God be thanked, that ye were the
servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which
was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of
righteousness. The determining factor as to whether or not the blood of
Christ washes a persons sins away and they are added to the church rests with
how they believed.
A person who believes on the Word of God from
the heart will not only be added to the church through baptism there will also
be strong evidence of a changed life and lifestyle. The Bible says in Romans 12:1-2 ҦI beseech you therefore, brethren, by
the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to
this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may
prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
These words indicate that the true Christian will sacrifice things that he used
to do in the flesh for what God would have him do in the Spirit.
The person
who believes a false gospel and erroneous doctrine are not added to the church
but may become the member of some man made Church. The only way a person can
know how to behave in the house of God or the church of Christ is to be taught
some of the rules and regulations. Not only is heart belief important but also
what a person believes is also critical.
Some people
say that a person only needs to obey the gospel (Death, burial and resurrection
of Christ) to be added to the church. In this instance some may state that
obedience to the doctrine of Christ is not important or essential. To understand
this concept and investigate whether it is true or not we must first define the
terms gospel and doctrine.
The term
doctrine is derived from the Greek word Didache and means instruction. This
biblical term encapsulates or contains the total message of New Testament
scripture as it relates to the church. The term gospel is derived from the
Greek word Euaggelizo and means to evangelize or bring good news and biblically
the good news is the message of Christ. Through defining these two words we see
that they go hand in hand and compliment each other.
In 2 John 1:9-10 the Bible says "Whosoever
transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that
abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. ¶If there
come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your
house, neither bid him God speed:
The doctrine
must be obeyed just as the gospel because the gospel is in the doctrine. The
Bible says in Galatians 1:8 "But though we, or an
angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have
preached unto you, let him be accursed. In both verses the seriousness of the
doctrine and gospel being tampered with is addressed. In Romans 6:17 it was the doctrine that was obeyed
because in the doctrine is also found the gospel or good news of Christ and how
one is to behave in the house of God.
Heart belief
and obedience through baptism will result in a person being added to the church.
Heart belief in some kind of twisted, compromised and distorted message of
Christ will result in a person joining a religious body or institution unrelated
and unsupported by Christ. Christ said in Matthew
15:13 "...Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted,
shall be rooted up."
Many people
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and a person must believe that
unequivocally before they are baptized but mere belief of that is not enough.
Many believe Christ is the Messiah but when it comes to the total message
of Christ and the New Testament many go awry. The doctrine teaches us how
to behave and worship in the house of God or the church. I believe that a
grasp of certain doctrinal issues are important to understand or else how
could a person know what they are or were doing? (Acts
1:3; Acts 2:40)
In the
gospel we learn about the death burial and resurrection of Christ. Through the
doctrine some of the things we learn are:
1.
How to worship God (John 4:22-24).
2.
That instrumental music in worship was a command in Old Testament
scripture and only singing is authorized in New Testament scripture (2
Chronicles 29:26-28; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).
3.
That the gift of speaking in tongues has ceased (13:8-10).
4.
That communion is to be taken every first day of the week (Acts
20:7)
5.
That only men can be preachers, pastors and deacons in the church
(I Timothy 2:11-14; I Corinthians 14:34; I Timothy 3:1-16).
6.
That God and His Kingdom must come before everything (Matthew
6:33).
7.
That baptism means to be immersed or buried in water (Romans 6:4).
8.
That worship service attendance is a command, which makes it
mandatory (Hebrews 10:24-25).
9.
That sex before marriage is a sin (Galatians 5:19 & 21).
10. That to add to or take away
from the Bible will result in personal destruction (Revelation 22:18-19).
11. That many have left the true
teachings of the church and are now teaching a message different than the one
God sent and endorsed (Acts 20:29-30; I Timothy 4:1-3; I John 4:1).
12. That there is one church/body,
Spirit, God, faith and baptism (Ephesians 4:4-5; I Corinthians 12:12-14).
There are
many more things we learn from Biblical doctrine but to believe that a basic
understanding of these truths is unimportant would be spiritually
irresponsible. If the above things are taught incorrectly a person believes
incorrectly and their baptism may be incorrect and in vain. Incorrect teaching
is how men and women establish their own self-willed Churches but the truth and properly taught Word of God results in
men and women being added by God to the church of Christ. The bible says in Acts 2:47 "... And the Lord added to the church daily
such as should be saved." God does the adding and humans do the
believing but the right thing must be believed.
Scripturally
analyze your spiritual condition and if a change is necessary repent and be
baptized today for the remission of sins and be added to the church of Christ.
If through this study you have realized that spiritually you have diabetes
because you failed to believe in God as the master physician make a change and
believe and obey God and His commands from the heart today.